Cocktail dresses every night?

[kiddo]

I love this message board! I am still trying to figure out what to pack for the evenings during our trip in March. Several women talk about wearing short cocktail dresses every night? Are all the restaurants appropriate for that attire in the evening? It seems like a lot of packing if I am bringing a different cocktail dress for every night we are there?

[custer]

I wear sun dresses, as well as capris and cute halters. As far as packing a different dress for everynight.....I have no problem with wearing one more than once....you only have it on for a few hours. My husband usually likes to wear jeans and a nice shirt; he does bring one pair of dress pants for Otaheite. We usually take 2 suitcases; in February we are going back and have decided we are going to take only one this time. This make affect the amount of shoes I bring

[beach]

When we were there the dress was all over the board. I would say the dress at Feather was the nice attire which at the other restaurants would could get away with a more casual dress or attire. I really do not think their is a need for a cocktail dress for every evening, especially if you are only eating at Palms.

[debbanks]

Hi kiddo not necessarily cocktail dresses but nice summer dresses. Feathers is the only place that you should be really dressy.

[BobandJudy]

I personally pack several summery type dresses for wear during the evening (not necessarily "cocktail" dresses). For me, it's easier than packing shorts and tops, and it saves room in the suitcase. However, I do pack a few pairs of shorts for the beach party and eating dinner at the Palms at CSA. I wear dresses a lot for work, so it's easy for me. If you don't have a lot of dresses, you will certainly be fine with capris and shorts for most of the restaurants.

[dandj]

It depens on the resort and the restaurant. You can get away with nice shorts or capris in a lot of them. You can always wear the same thing twice.

[lvgal]

Unless you want to, you definitely don't need to bring any cocktail dresses, much less a different one for every night.

I bring one somewhat nice summer dress for Feathers and the repeaters dinner (same dress since I'm only in it for a couple of hours) and then a couple of casual skirts and tops (again, I re-wear). I like skirts so I bring those but I would have felt fine at dinner in nicer shorts/top as well.

It's all about what you are comfortable in and your packing strategy (i.e. carry-on only) as you will see the entire spectrum of apparel at dinner.

[meekers1980]

You could wear dress pants or a skirt.

[tnt]

You will see a wide variety of dress for women. Some women like to get dressed up every evening, and some are more casual about it. If you want to keep the packing light, you can do some creative mix and matching. I used to bring a different dress for every evening. Now, I bring about 5 for a 7 night stay and will rewear a couple. I know others who only bring a couple dresses and then some capris with a couple different tops. Each resort has one restaurant that you will want to have a nice dress for (but even in those restaurants I've seen people in more cassual attire. In the more casual restaurants you will see women dressed up and some more casual. It's really more about what you want to do.

[blondie56]

Myself, I overpacked again! All I wore were 2 sundresses(One long, one short)a dress skirt and dress pants with 2 blouses for the 8 night we were there!5 swimsuits, 5 pairs of shorts(wore 2)2 tank tops, 2 T shirts(wore 1) Spent all day on beach :-), then to dinner and night out. If you're a beach lover, you don't need much clothing! Enjoy your trip!

[randijean46]

I didn't wear half of what I brought for my first trip to Couples! Now I bring a couple of sundresses, a skirt with a couple of tops to go with it, and 1 pair of capris and 1 pair of shorts (the same colour) with 2 or 3 tops to wear to breakfast. My husband wears shorts and a shirt for breakfast and casual long pants with a collared shirt and closed toed shoes (which they ask for). As for jeans, you're at a 4 or 5 star resort so how about leaving the jeans at home and replacing them with a comfortable pair of casual pants.

[Pamela]

I bring three sundresses, and I alternate them. For seven nights, I end up wearing two of the dresses twice and one three times.

[sunstarsmoon]

thanks for the tips I was just thinking about how many I should be bringing for my 2 week vacation in July

[acranger]

I am still trying to figure out what to pack for the evenings during our trip in March. Several women talk about wearing short cocktail dresses every night? Are all the restaurants appropriate for that attire in the evening? It seems like a lot of packing if I am bringing a different cocktail dress for every night we are there?

.....A couple of nice "Sun Dresses" will do it. The rest is up to you.

[Eaglelvr]

What if you are not a "dress" type of gal. Can I wear nice pants and a blouse? More like nice business attire?

[acranger]

What if you are not a "dress" type of gal. Can I wear nice pants and a blouse? More like nice business attire?

...Of course.

[Coloradojuli]

Cool cotton slacks with a nice top will be fine if you would prefer not to wear a dress. But I don't suggest business style pants as I always think of those as hot! Remember the temp is pretty constant day and night and you don't want to be miserably hot. Dressy shorts with a cute top also works fine everywhere except the reservation restaurant where you will need to wear slacks.

[caviargal]

What if you are not a "dress" type of gal. Can I wear nice pants and a blouse? More like nice business attire?

I really cannot picture business attire at CSA but pants are fine if that is your preference. Linen would be a good option for the weather.

I pack a couple of jersey maxi dresses and a Tommy Bahama wrap skirt or two and I am good to go. And I also rewear outfits to save on packing as we do carry on only.

[cleversole]

What if you are not a "dress" type of gal. Can I wear nice pants and a blouse? More like nice business attire?

yes for the dressy restaurants that is OK. The rest of the restaurants you CAN wear shorts and nice blouses and I saw people in T shirts. We did that alot the first year we were there and I felt a little underdressed, so last year we took more blouses and that is fine. I'm not a "dress" person either. I bought one for the dressy restaurant but I would MUCH rather have shorts and just a blouse on or polo style shirt. Hubby wears shorts and polo shirts too.

[tnt]

Of course you can Eaglelvr. It is just that you will see most women in some sort of sundress or evening dress/skirt. You will also see some capris or dress shorts too. Wear what you feel comfortable in. You will probably feel more comfortable, though, if you think more tropical rather than business.

[Maxernie]

I personally don't take any cocktail dresses to CN (or CSS or CSA) .... Used to but not so much into wearing dresses anymore so wear mostly nice capris with nicer tops ... I always take 4 -5 summer dresses with the best of intentions but usually only wear 1 of them if we go to the repeaters dinner. Lots of women dress up a lot & lots of women dress up a little & some women don't dress up at all .... depends on the restaurant.

[ontheflipside]

I did not see very many cocktail dresses. I saw more dress attire that you would wear to a wedding. I brought a nice skirt and dressing blouse with dressy sandals for both nights we went to the restaurants with reservations, otherwise, the other ones were casual evening wear.

[gonegril]

Eaglelvr - business attire may be a bit out of character with the resort (at least CSA). Plus, business attire may be very hot to wear and be not be comfy, as the only restaurant with AC is Feathers. If you're keen for pants, how about bringing a couple of pair of capris or light summer trousers and pair that with a cami or pretty short sleeved blouse? You may find you wear the capris more than the trousers because of the heat/humidity.

In any case, just remember you're in the tropics, and enjoy your stay!